Taunt
is a support technique used by many fighters. Overview Taunting is performed by a user performing some form of gesture, remark, or insult to annoy or enrage their opponent and throw off their thinking. Usage Taunting has been used throughout the Dragon Ball series by a variety of characters. Even young Goku has been known to playfully taunt his opponents on occasion. Krillin suffered taunting from the Bullies of the Orin Temple who often picked on him. As a young martial artist, Mr. Satan along with his Master foolishly taunted Mercenary Tao by making fun of his hairstyle, resulting in Mr. Satan being injured and his master being killed by Tao. Goten and Trunks cheekily taunted the powerful Broly as well as his clone Bio-Broly, while their fusion Gotenks taunted the powerful Super Buu. Due to his childish personality, Majin Buu has also been known to taunt opponents. During the Battle on Planet Namek, after being healed by Dende following being almost killed by HAIL Frieza, Krillin heroically used the technique to divert 2nd form Frieza's attention away from Gohan giving Dende time to heal him. While trying to goad a then-recently stage-frightened Uub into fighting him, Goku proceeded to taunt Uub by making disparaging remarks about the latter's village and his parents as well as proceeding to turn around, bend over slightly, and slap his behind at him. Variations *'Taunt EX' - A Special Skill variant of Taunt from Dragon Ball Fusions. Has a chance of Inflicting Rage status on the opponent causing them to focus their attack on the user. Unlike the Special Move version, Taunt EX costs no ki though it can only be used once per battle. *'The Savior Has Come' - Mr. Satan's Ultimate Skill in the Dragon Ball Xenoverse series that forces opponents to lock-on to the user and acts as an Ultimate variant of Taunt. It can also be used by Majin Buu and Jaco in Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 as one of their available skills within their Custom Skillsets. *'Pressure Sign' - Vegito's variation on the Taunt is a counterattack where Vegito taunts the opponent into attacking him, only to use Rapid Movement upon being attacked to deliver a kicking counterattack. *'Rough Ranger' - Android 17's variation of the Taunt is a counterattack where he taunts the opponent to come and attack him, then counter with either a kick if it is a strike or standard ki blast fired at point blank range or deploy his Android Barrier if is a Ki Blast Super or standard Ki Blast fired at mid-to-long range. *'Bluff Kamehameha' - A comical version of the Kamehameha where the user pretends to charge a Kamehameha but instead of an energy attack, they fire out confetti and streams. Used by Super Saiyan 4 Gogeta to taunt and scare Omega Shenron. Video Game Appearances Taunting was named in the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai series. In the Budokai Tenkaichi series, taunting can be performed by not pressing any buttons for a short amount of time. Taunting cannot be cancelled and leaves the user wide open. In Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z & Dragon Ball Xenoverse, taunting is used to force opponents to lock-on to the user and in team battles can be used prevent them from targeting ones allies by forcing them to lock-on the user. In Xenoverse, Vegito has a variation of the technique called Pressure Sign which he taunts the opponent to get them to attack him, unleashing a counterattack if they do so. Mr. Satan has a variation called The Savior Has Come. In Dragon Ball Fusions, Taunt appears as a Special Move used by several characters and has a chance of inflicting Rage status on a single opponent causing them to focus their attack on the user. There is also a stronger version called Group Taunt and a Special Skill variant called Taunt EX. In Xenoverse 2, Taunt, Pressure Sign, and The Savior Has Come all return as skills and function the same way they did in Xenoverse. Cooler's Shadow Crusher causes him to taunt the opponent with the Frieza Stance and if hit by a ki-blast based attack or skill he will perform his Nova Chariot to charge through the attack to hit them. After the 1.09.00 Update, Taunt can be added to Krillin's custom skillset after it has been purchased for 5 TP Medals in Partner Customization, and is likely a reference to his usage of the technique against 2nd form Frieza in the main series. Additionally, Jaco and Majin Buu can add The Savior Has Come variation to their custom skillsets after it has been purchased for 15 TP Medals (30 TP for both characters) in Partner Customization. While there is a Dual Ultimate team attack variation of The Savior Has Come called DUAL The Savior Has Come, it functions more as team fighting pose and healing technique than an actual taunt. As part of the Extra Pack 2 DLC, Android 17's Rough Ranger skill begins with a taunt and causes him to counter with either a kick or Android Barrier depending on the type of attack it is. Xeno Pan taunts Salsa in the opening to Universe Mission 9 of Super Dragon Ball Heroes. In Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, Taunt appears as one of Yamcha's Super Attacks where he confidently smiles (causing his teeth to sparkle) while taunting which draws the attention of enemies causing them to target him. Trivia *Most villains have met their end at some point after showing their middle finger, Recoome was defeated by Goku and killed by Vegeta. Babidi was killed by Majin Buu, and Super Buu's existence came to an end when he reverted to his pure Kid Buu form, who was later killed by the Super Spirit Bomb. **Vegeta was also met with defeat at the hands of Recoome and later killed by Frieza after using it on Krillin during the Battle on Planet Namek though he was technically an anti-hero when he did it to Krillin and ironically joined forces with Krillin after using it in order to combat the Ginyu Force and Frieza which was what actually lead to his defeat and later death, though he was later accidentally resurrected by Mr. Popo's wish to revive everyone killed by Frieza and his men, though this is likely a reflection to his anti-hero status and eventual redemption. *Due to its status as an obscene hand gesture, the notorious middle finger taunt is often censored in TV broadcasts of the anime and movies, though it can be seen in the original and uncut versions. Mooning, more specifically the portions where they drop their pants, is also censored due to being considered a form a nudity. The clothed variant is still shown, however. *Goku has been the victim of The Finger twice, first by Recoome on Namek and later by the Wizard Babidi. However, both villains met their ends shortly afterwards, as the defeated Recoome was killed by Vegeta and Babidi was killed by Majin Buu. Interestingly, Goku indirectly caused both villain's deaths, as he had defeated Recoome which gave Vegeta the chance to kill him (though Goku later admonished Vegeta for killing a defenseless opponent) and Babidi was only killed by Majin Buu after Goku suggested that someone as powerful as Buu shouldn't have to take orders from someone weak like Babidi (meaning Goku killed Babidi by proxy). *At least three members of the Z Fighters have used The Finger to taunt an enemy of theirs at least once during their lives and interestingly all are members of the Brief family. Bulma flipped off Pilaf in Dragon Ball, Vegeta flipped of Krillin during the Namek Saga (Vegeta was still technically an antagonist when he used it on Krillin ), and Trunks flipped off Bio-Broly in the Bio-Broly film. However as in most cases its use by then tends to be censored in edited TV broadcasts, as it can be considered a bad influence to have protagonists (even Vegeta who was technically an anti-hero at the time he performed it and became an ally not long after he used it) using such an obscene hand gesture. **Additional Trunks and Goten's fusion Gotenks can also use the technique though he presumably inherits it from Trunks, given Goten's good natured personality and having better manners than Kid Trunks. Goten himself would likely avoid using it even if he did learn or know of it (presumably from being around Trunks) for fear of getting in trouble with his mother (as Chi-Chi would likely not approve of either her sons using it given she would probably view it as both extremely bad manners and sign of delinquency given her personality). **Veku also uses it in Fusion Reborn to taunt Janemba. His knowledge of the technique likely comes from Vegeta. **The chapter page for Cell vs. Android 16 features Tien Shinhan, Krillin, Yamcha, and Future Trunks flipping off Imperfect Cell with disgusted glares at him. This marks the only time it has been used by Krillin, Tien, Yamcha, and Future Trunks, though not in the actual storyline. *Both Goku and his descendant Goku Jr. have mooned someone. Goku Jr.'s great-great-grandfather Mr. Satan also threatened to use the taunt on Cell in the manga, though he did perform the clothed version on Cell in the anime. *In Granddaughter Pan, a unnamed punk kid gives the young Pan the finger (in censored versions it was edited to a clenched fist), an act which in real life is viewed as form of sexual assault on a minor if done to children and can result in jail time for the offender. * is a childish gesture in Japanese culture, made by pulling a lower eyelid down to expose the red underneath. In the Dragon Ball series, it is often used in tandem with other taunting gestures, such as Jimmy Firecracker using Akanbe in combination with the finger and Kid Buu using it and sticking out his tongue. **Xeno Pan uses Akanbe to taunt Salsa in the opening to Universe Mission 9 of Super Dragon Ball Heroes. Gallery References Category:Techniques Category:Supportive techniques